Category Archives: General

Exactly 100years back on this very day more than 1000 innocent, unarmed men, women and children were brutally massacred.

1650 rounds were fired at them but many died in miserable pain just lying on the ground as their families were not given permission to pick up their bodies and the Government hospital run by Lt Colonel Smith turned the injured away calling them “rabid dogs.”

April 13, 1919 is a day no Bharatiya should forget. This was the day when the “Butcher of Amritsar” Brigadier General Reginald Dyer unleashed his barbarism on us Bharatiya.

Let us all pay homage to those martyrs.

Let us also ask how did a handful of people from far off lands and a little history (relative to Bharat’s over 8000years old) bleed us for almost 1000years?

How did the Hindu civilisation – which was born on the banks of Sindhu and Saraswati rivers (Indus valley, Pakistan), spread right from Gandhar (Kandahar, Afghanistan) to Kamboj (Cambodia), including Singapore,
Indonesia, Brunei and culturally dominating China and Japan (through Buddhism) – shrink so rapidly?

World’s oldest universities which attracted students from across the world, just like today’s American universities do, were from Bharat – Takshashila (today Pakistan) and Nalanda (Bihar). These two universities imparted education for free including stay and food. How did we lose this pioneering status in the field of education?

How did Alexander, Ghouris, Ghaznis, Khiljis, Tughlaqs, Mughals, Dutch, Portuguese, British and their ‘agents’ manage to unleash their brutality on us repeatedly?

Does the challenge lie within us Bharatiya? Does this call for introspection?

Should we observe April 13
as “Atmanirikshan Divas” or Introspection Day?

Leave you to decide.

Uttishtha Bharat🙏🏻🇮🇳

Some facts on Jalianwala Baug massacre

Date – April 13, 1919*

Day – Festival of Baisakhi

Rounds fired – 1650

Innocent, unarmed dead – more than 1000 (Source: renowned educationist Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya who was Congress Party President for 4 terms)

Age of youngest shot dead: Seven-month baby

Age of oldest shot dead: 80years old

Brigadier General Reginald Dyer’s reaction after all the ammunition (1650 rounds) was over – “Good shooting. We have done a jolly good thing.” (Source: Midnight’s Children a novel by Salman Rushdie page 36)

The reaction of Lt Colonel Smith, Government Doctor – turned away the injured from the government hospital and called them “rabid dogs”

Reaction to a massacre in Britain – “Thanks to the munificence of Morning Post newspaper, a conservative pro-Imperialistic newspaper, which later merged with the Daily Telegraph. To raise funds for the hero of Jallianwalla Bagh, the celebrated newspaper made an appeal for a generous donation from the public, eventually, they received enough funds. Gen. Dyer was given warm reception on his return to England, where he was received like a victorious war hero and awarded a purse of £26,000.00 (approximately £1,000,000 in terms of 2013 PPP) for his patriotic service to the nation” (Source: The Butcher of Amritsar, General Reginald Dyer by Nigel Collett)

August 15, 1947 – “When the British hastily retreated in 1947, their rapacious administrators were replaced by a class of Indians derisively described as Macaulayites – Indians only in name but who were otherwise disconnected from Indian culture and thought. These Indians had inherited all the biases that the British rulers harboured towards Indians. They were the product of Thomas Macaulay’s English Education Act of 1835 whose sole purpose was to create a class of people who would assist the British in administering India.” (Source: Rakesh Krishnan Simha, Demography – Persecution and Proselytisation)

Sage Valmiki asks Narada, “Who is the one person in the world…with high attributes – affable to everyone, valiant, virtuous, principled, thankful, true to his word, determined in his deed highly adept, benign to all beings, scholar with adorable ability and admirable personality, and who is pleasant to look at who is a courageous one, who has controlled ire, who is non-emulative, non-jealous and by whom, even the gods are afraid, when angered in a battlefield?” [SIXTEEN prime qualities]

This synopsis lets one quickly experience the life of Rama Chandra. An interesting aspect that one can observe throughout this historical epic is how he captivated everyone through His qualities. These qualities are the reason why He is worshipped till date.

Sri Rama Chandra was admired not only by one section of people but all sections. He was adored by everyone not only in his physical presence but also in his absence.

He was loved not only by human beings but also all other beings and nature. He was revered not only in the past but also worshipped in the present and will be in the future.

He impressed not only his friends but also his foe like Ravana!

Maha Vishnu descended as Rama (vibhava avatar) to pacify sages from the atrocities of Ravana. How did He do that? Definitely not magic, only through qualities of a perfect human being!

He was an embodiment of primely 16 glorious guna:s (qualities). The true sampada (wealth) of the Rama avatar constituted His mesmerising qualities, and of course all the abilities driven by those qualities. Such incarnations are also therefore called ‘vibhava avataaras’ (vibhava means wealth).

How is this knowledge about vibhava avataras beneficial to us?

If you want to lead a life making the right choices, then Sri Ramayanam is your guide book!

Zakir Hussain is India’s iconic tabla maestro. Speaking with Sugandha Indulkar, Hussain discussed the high volume tolerance debate, why he feels media should temper its tone – and being the first heartthrob of Indian music:

We’re seeing a considerable debate on tolerance currently – is India a tolerant nation?

Yes, India is a tolerant nation. Indians know how to live peacefully with each other. We are a diverse country and in our diversity, we’ve found peace and compassion.

I am proud to be an Indian. My wife is an American. I can get an American passport – i never went for it. I believe i am an Indian, my father believed it, because there is a deep-rooted connection with the culture and art of India that we are constantly aware of. At the time of Partition, many people went to Pakistan but we stayed here because we knew we were Indians. It really is unique, this beautiful, culturally rich nation of ours. We are peace-loving – and we need to hold on this harmony. We should not give anyone an opportunity to pit us against one another.

But we are hearing many contrarian views. Have you faced any intolerance yourself?

Tabla Maestro Zakir Hussain who was the chief guest for the IFFK 2015 performing at the inaugural function in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday

Not at all. I am the quintessential Mumbai boy. I was brought up in Mahim. My father was the best tabla player I knew. His discipline and dedication were very inspirational. My parents were staunch followers of Islam. At home, after my morning prayers and riyaaz, I would go to a madrasa and pray. From there, I’d go to St Michael’s school, before which I would go to the chapel and say my hymns and novenas. In the evening, I used to go to a temple and then come home to learn tabla again.

I attended a meeting of Intellectual and Professionals today along with a few of my friends, in which Smt. Sushma Swaraj was the Chief Guest…..She was there to appeal the people to elect Sri N.Ramachander Rao as MP for Malkajgiri. Few points from her Brilliant speech. (The first two are Mighty Diplomatic Achievements….)

1) She recollected the Yemen incident which took place a couple of years back, in which India saved 5000 odd people ( 4000 Indians and the rest belonging to various countries)….. Saudi was attacking Yemen — Indians & many other foreigners stuck…To airlift Indians aerial attacks have to be stopped…On her request, Prime Minister Modi called Saudi head right in front of her and asked for one-week ceasefire….. They called back 30mins later and they said they can ceasefire for 2 hours only a day — how Yemen opened its airport for this Indian Operation — and how India could evacuate 5000 plus people including foreigners—and 48 countries requested India to evacuate its citizens safe from Yemen and how heart fully the heads of those countries thanked Indian PM.

2) The OIC meeting happened in March 2019(soon after the Balakot Airstrikes)…..Pak blackmailed the “Organization of Islamic Countries” that it would boycott the meeting if they allowed India…But OIC refused to listen and admitted India and forced Pakistan to skip the meeting…..and Pakistan was shamed……50 years back in 1969, in a similar situation, Pak could successfully thwart India’s presence in the meeting by a similar type of blackmailing…. and how things are different now.

3) No bomb attacks inside the country since the last 5 years and any terror attacks restricted to borders.

4) The Balakot Airstrikes and the tough decision of PM behind it.

5) How the opposition leaders are keen to believe Masood Azhar and Imran Khan but not prepared give credit to Army for the Airstrikes, Surgical strike and the political will behind it.

5) She blasted the Congress Manifesto which brazenly promises Removal of Anti Sedition law, Review of AFSPA, Soft approach in Kashmir, playing into the hands of Liberals and Anti nationals. There is a huge difference between Modi who came up the ladder after starting from Grass root level and Rahul Gandhi who is a sort of a prince…..Modi knows the pulse of Indians whereas the other is not even anywhere close to it.

6) And the Unprecedented development that happened in the last 5 years in so many areas. And how foreign countries expressed astonishment with her at such great progress. She said that the development is a reflection of Modi’s will power and also the clear mandate given by people of India in 2014 which empowered him to take bold decisions……

And finally, to end the meeting, she appealed all to vote for the development again.

Most of the Development aspects she mentioned can be seen in this slide👇

How Shall We Recover our Lost Intellectual Freedom

Sri Aurobindo says " How shall we recover our lost intellectual freedom? By reversing, for the time being, the process by which we lost it, by liberating our minds in all subjects from the thralldom to authority. The Anglicized ask us to abandon authority, revolt against superstition to have free minds. What they mean is that we should renounce authority of the Vedas for Max Muller, the Monism of Sankara for the Monism of Haeckel, the dogmatisms of Pandits for the dogmatisms of European thinkers, scientists and scholars. Let us break our chains in order to be free, in the name of truth, not in the name of Europe.

Our first necessity, if India is to survive and do her appointed work in the world, is that the youth of India should learn to think, - to think on all subjects, to think independently, fruitfully, going to the heart of things, not stopped by their surface, free of prejudgments, shearing sophism and prejudice asunder as with a sharp sword, smiting down obscurantism of all kinds as with the mace of Bhima…”.